


the lion and the stag

by goldenkc



Series: Love Interests They Deserve [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Happy Starks, mention of all the starks, mention of the tyrells, mentions of hate between the lannisters, tagging this mature because there is mentioned sex in later chapters, tyrion deserves better, tyrion hates his dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2019-12-27 03:34:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18296018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenkc/pseuds/goldenkc
Summary: Varys clears his throat and speaks with finality. “We cannot kill her. I hope we all agree that would be... bad for morale among the commoners.”Tyrion sighs, waving his hand in defeat. “What can we do then?”Tywin gets an idea. An idea that would further the animosity between him and his youngest son. “Someone can wed her.” Cersei grows a terrible grin at this, understanding her father's meaning by the glimmer in his eye.“And who would do that?” Tyrion asks, almost uninterestedly. The pointed look Tywin gave makes Tyrion sit up straighter. “No,” he says immediately.“Yes,” Tywin demands.[ Happy rewrite: Myrcella is home, Joffrey is dead, Sansa is happy in Highgarden with her mother and all her siblings, but unfortunately, two kind souls in King’s Landing are set for unhappy times, though of course, they’ll try to make the best of it ]





	1. chapter one

With Joffrey dead, Cersei takes over the realm until Tommen is old enough for the seat. Cersei can protect her daughter and orders that Myrcella doesn’t leave King’s Landing.

Sansa plans to flee to Highgarden with Shae, and she makes it, living there happily, married to Loras but lying in Margaery's bed. Tyrion had known of these plans, but he didn't say a word to anyone. It was Shae who told him Sansa was leaving, and that she was following her lady to Highgarden where no evil Lannisters could touch them again.

When Tywin finally admits to King that they no longer have Sansa and Arya—the reason Robb fought in the War of the Five Kings in the first place—Robb, Catelyn, and Talisa run to Highgarden. It’s there where they await for Brienne to bring them Arya and receive a raven that Bran, Rickon, and Jon are coming from Castle Black to join the haven at Highgarden where they all live out their days as a family. 

Robb has his first son there, and by Talisa’s insistence, his name is Eddard. The pair have three more boys together, all with names inspired by Volantis. Years later, Sansa and Loras will have a son, who they name Brandon, then they have a daughter and call her Lyanna. Both children grow up with two mothers who love them and a father who would kill for them. Even Arya will marry and will have one daughter she’ll raise to be strong and courageous like her. 

Years before all that, a young woman’s father dies, or at least the man she thought was her father. Her mother finally tells her the truth once her husband dies at work, now leaving them with no way to sustain themselves on the little Mother makes working at the orphanage. 

The young woman’s name was Alexandrya Waters. And she’s a bastard of the late King Robert Baratheon. Word spreads all the way to the castle where Cersei Lannister, the mother of the last king, lives. 

Before the small council can do anything about her, she’s already become a familiar name around the citizens of King’s Landing for her kindness and the time she spends at the orphanage where her late mother’s worked.

A young blonde girl with a royal name was helping in said orphanage when a kind woman can up to her, thanking for the Princess' help without even knowing who she was and why everyone was staring at her.

The woman finally realizes her mistake. “You're Myrcella Baratheon, my princess.” Alexa curtseyed. She was told not to draw much attention. Then when asked her name, she simply replied, “Alexa.” 

Myrcella’s eyes widen as she thinks to the only person she’s heard of with that name. “Not Alexa Waters, the bastard everyone's been talking about.”

“I suppose I am,” Alexa says sadly, hoping to have made even one friend who didn't call her a bastard.

“That makes us sisters!” Myrcella cheers, quietly enough not to gain prying eyes. The girl knew that if the rumours of her mother and uncle were true, it would mean she and this strange new woman are not related, but she's always wanted a sister.


	2. chapter two

“Alexandrya,” Cersei pronounces difficulty as if she's never heard the name.

They all stand in the throne room, Cersei seeming very comfortable in the Iron Throne. “Alexa will do just fine, Your Grace.” Myrcella subtly taps Alexa's arm, silently saying not to correct the queen.

Cersei lets out a light chuckle, eyes full of anger. “And your family name?”

Alexa pauses a moment before replying, “Waters, Your Grace.”

Cersei smiles at that, a smile almost wicked, it nearly frightens the younger woman. “Waters,” she repeats quietly. “A bastard of the Crownlands?” she asks as though it is a question, knowing the answer.

“Yes, Your Grace. I had a father who was also a bastard, and he raised me as his daughter, but he met my mother while pregnant with me—”

“Did I ask for your life story?” Alexa opens her mouth to answer, but Cersei raises a hand, saying, “Let's not even bother. Myrcella, my darling, this woman will suit you as handmaiden?”

Myrcella nods immediately. “Yes, Mother.”


	3. chapter three

“The bitch is my daughter’s bloody handmaiden!” Cersei announces walking into the room holding the small council meeting. “Poor Myrcella has taken to her.”

Tyrion clears his throat to get his sister’s attention and asks, “Sorry, who do we hate today?”

“Alexandrya Waters. My lovely late husband’s bastard,” Cersei snaps, taking her seat next to her father. 

With Tywin here, Tyrion doesn’t understand his place. But his father requested he be there, and Tywin Lannister requests something, it’s given to him without pause.

“I thought our dear Joffrey had killed all of Robert’s bastards,” Tyrion says.

“Obviously not,” Tywin replies. “We didn’t know of this one until recently. Her mother kept it a secret until she died.”

Varys spoke up with, “Yes, and then she became much too popular with the people of King’s Landing. Her charity work is inspiring, to say the least.”

“Now she’s got her hooks in my daughter, my only daughter. She must be stopped.”

“Absolutely not,” Tywin roars. “We barely have the support of our country as it is. And you want to take away their shining star?”

Cersei eyes her father. She can’t go against him, especially in front of an audience. Varys clears his throat and speaks with finality. “We cannot kill her. I hope we all agree that would be… bad for morale among the commoners.”

Tyrion sighs, waving his hand in defeat. “What _can_ we do then?”

Tywin gets an idea. An idea that would further the animosity between him and his youngest son. “To stop her from claiming the throne… someone can wed her.” Cersei grows a terrible grin at this, understanding her father's meaning by the glimmer in his eye.

“And who would do that?” Tyrion asks, almost uninterestedly. The pointed look Tywin gave makes Tyrion sit up straighter. “No,” he says immediately. 

“Yes,” Tywin demands.

“She’s a child,” Tyrion argues.

“Actually, my lord,” Maester Pycelle’s slow voice speaks, making Cersei immediately roll her eyes. “I’ve heard she’s over the age of 18.

“I won’t do it,” Tyrion states, speaking like he has a choice.

“Yes, you will. And that’s enough. Meeting’s over.” 

Tyrion couldn’t argue anymore. He stays in his chair long after the others have left. The Lannister name has already decided everything for him at this point, he supposes this is just like anything else.


	4. chapter four

Alexa is on her way to Myrcella’s chamber when she spots Tyrion around a corner. “My lord,” she says quietly as she passes him. 

“My lady?” he says to get her attention. 

Alexa tries not to chuckle when she replies, “I'm not a lady, my lord. Just Alexa.”

“Well then, Just Alexa, might I speak with you a moment?” She nods and follows him into his chambers. 

She looks around at the space—large bed, a table full of fruits, balcony with a view. Alexa turns to Tyrion at the table where he watches her with curiosity.

“You seem different, Just Alexa, careful.” He says it as though he's waiting for an explanation. 

“Myrcella taught me how to be careful, my lord. She tells me this place can be difficult for outsiders.”

“That it can,” he agrees, pushing forward a cup full of wine. “I must discuss awkward matters with you.”

Alexa sits, taking the glass and quickly swallowing half of it. Gods, she misses wine.

Tyrion pauses a moment, rarely finding women who don't sip. “You've quite a reputation already in King's Landing, and not the greatest one.”

“Is it better than yours?” she asks without thinking. Then her eyes widen and she goes to offer a thousand apologies, but Tyrion's laughter cuts her off.

“A funny one,” he says with a relieved sigh. “Goodness, please, my dear. You may speak freely here.”

Alexa nods, thankful for at least one safe haven—if this lord is an honest one, which he seems to be.

“Unfortunately, within the minds of the highborn around her, your reputation is worse than mine. Joffrey had once ordered all of Robert Baratheon's bastards to be executed and you seem to have been missed.”

“Lucky for me,” she says, taking another drink. 

Tyrion smiles, watching the green flecks in this woman's eyes shimmer. “Very lucky. Now, you're quite popular with the people, and we evidently cannot have you killed...” Alexa is now paying very close attention to this speech. “So, the _great_ Tywin Lannister has decided to have you married off.”

“Why is that up to him?” she quickly asks.

Tyrion sighs, shaking his head as if he barely understands it himself. “Because he says so.” She asks who he says to marry if she wishes to keep her life. The man pauses before answering, “Me. He commands you to marry me.”

Alexa thinks that over, trying to remember each of the lords in this city. She finishes her drink and reaches for the jug to acquire more. She pours, drinks, and finally puts the cup down.

All this leaves Tyrion in agony. He's usually very good at reading people, but Alexa Waters is a damn enigma. Alexa opens her mouth, pauses, then drinks some more.

“Please, my lady, _what_ are you thinking?” he all but demands.

“I'm thinking,” she says slowly, “I'm not the one who drew the short straw. It's really you, my lord, stuck with a lowborn girl who really has no idea how to act in these castle walls and you'll also have to deal with a coming drinking problem if you keep feeding me this wine, and you're to put up with my correcting you of my title thrice a day until you learn. I'm really not good company to keep, my lord—”

“Well then aren't we just the perfect match?” They smile at each other, realizing this could've gone worse. “And if I must call you by your first name, then so will you. Or, at least in private.”

She nods, still smiling when she says, “Alright, Tyrion. I look forward to marrying you.”

She holds out a hand for him to shake, which he does when he replies, “Me, as well, Alexa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've made this part of a series because i'm currently writing a story for sansa to have a love interest she deserves and i'll probably have one for jon next. anyone else i should include and any ideas who their love interests should be? 
> 
> each part in the series is not related. ie in tyrion's, sansa marries loras, but in sansa's she'll stay with jon in the north. 
> 
> anyway thanks for reading up to here!


	5. chapter five

Less than a fortnight had passed when Alexa stands before the Red Keep in a white wedding gown, a few hundred people waiting beyond the doors to watch the spectacle of Robert Baratheon’s bastard marrying the Imp of the House Lannister. 

Tommen walks up just then, standing beside Alexa with his arm out. When she asks what he’s doing, Tommen responds with, “Mother says that since our father is dead, it is my duty to walk you.” 

Alexa gives a polite look, thanking the young yellow-haired boy, knowing he must do what his mother asks. The golden doors open and the violins play, cueing everyone to turn toward the bride and future king. Tyrion smiles what he can in front of so many people. 

When his soon to be wife gets to the top of the stairs, Tyrion stands on his stool and places the cloak over Alexa’s shoulders. They say the words they have to and later go to the place of their reception. Once the pleasantries are over, and the music slows to a stop, Tywin announces that the new husband and wife must run along to their chambers. 

With cheering nearly the whole way, the newlyweds walk to Tyrion’s room—Alexa’s room now, too. Alexa looks for a few moments too long upon the bed. Tyrion clears his throat and says, “We mustn’t do anything you wouldn’t like, my la… Alexa.”

She pauses, facing him. She knows she’s a lady now, but she’s glad he won’t treat her as such. “Truly?”

He nods. “Truly,” he promises.

She sits on the bed with her hands folded in her lap. “I wouldn’t like anything tonight, my lord. I can take the lounge chair—”

“Nonsense,” he tells her. “Take the bed, Alexa, please.”

She thinks that over before she breathes softly. “Perhaps we could both take the bed. Surely, there’s enough room for us both.”

“But you said—”

“Must you sleep with every woman that lies in your bed?” she asks with a laugh and a smile that eases him greatly.

Tyrion raises a brow and says, “It is usually what happens.” 

Alexa stands and removes the straps of her wedding dress at her shoulders and shrugs the whole thing off, leaving her in her dress slip. “Come,” she nods to the bed.

He bites his lips before he asks, “And you’ll sleep in that?”

“Would you prefer nothing, my lord?”

“Don’t make me regret my promise, Just Alexa,” he says with a pointed finger which makes her laugh.

She climbs in under the covers and waits there for Tyrion. He walks over cautiously, then he removes his formal wear, going to lie beside her in nothing but his undergarments. 

They lay beside each other, staring at the ceiling with merely a few inches between their shoulders. Tyrion cranes his neck to look at her. _She’s beautiful. Absolutely stunning._

“How old are you?” he asks in a whisper. 

“20,” she tells him. “Robert lay with my mother before he was even King.”

He sighs contentedly, asking her, “Can you tell me about your mother and father?”

Alexa smiles, grateful that he asks and grateful that he means her real father, not Robert. “They were both so kind, they often told me they’re where I get it from. Father worked as a baker. He was at that show over half the day every day. Mother helped out at the orphanage near our home, and it’s where I went most days, too. I learned to care for those children from her.”

Tyrion nods lightly, encouraging her to continue.

“Father’s shop burned down, and him with it,” she speaks gravely. “That was when Mother told me the truth. She died not long after with a flu we couldn’t afford to get medicine for. I spent the rest of my time at the orphanage until I met Myrcella.”

Tyrion smiles at her and offers his own story when she asks. “You already know of my mean old father, Tywin, and my terrible sister, Cersei, who both want nothing less than a gruesome death for me.”

“But not Jaime,” she says, having seen the way Tyrion’s older brother has always treated him with care.

Tyrion shakes his head with the smallest of smiles. “No. Not Jaime. He was my saving grace throughout all my life. Having lost my mother so young, I had no one else. I know how sweet she was, my mother. But my sister and father never stopped blaming me.”

“Blaming?--” She doesn’t get an answer before he asks another question. And another, and another. He says he wants to learn of his wife’s whole life. “Wife,” she chuckles when he calls her that.

“Aren’t you my wife? Were you not at the ceremony? I could’ve sworn that was you,” he says in a playful voice that makes her laugh. He loves to make her laugh. After knowing her less than a month, he knows that all he wants to do is make her laugh. 

She touches his face gently, a kind of gentle that Tyrion has never felt before. “I’m glad it was you. There's no shortage of terrible lords in King’s Landing I could’ve been stuck with. But I'm glad it was you.”

He holds that hand at his face and squeezes lightly with reassurance. “No one will hurt you now, Alexa. I promise it. Now that you’re mine, no one would dare hurt you.”

She leans forward and kisses his lips, this being only their second kiss, the first was when they were announced as man and wife. “Thank you,” she whispers against the skin of his cheek. 

She moves down a little to rest her head on his chest. She runs her fingertips along his stomach until she falls fast asleep, dreaming peacefully for the first time in too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yes ive decided that im doing a jon fic too. sansa's story will be with a wilding boy her age and jon's will be with a lady of one of the castles in the north. again i ask, any ideas for more? i really do love writing what these characters deserve.


	6. chapter six

One of Alexa’s new handmaidens runs in her shared chamber to change the sheets. She's a very beautiful young woman who catches Alexa’s attention. When the woman leaves the room, Tyrion catches Alexa’s eyes glued to the woman’s backside.

“Really?” he asks incredulously once they’re alone.

“What?” Alexa asks, hoping he hadn’t caught on too far.

“Is that why you won’t sleep with me, my lady?” Before she can correct him, he smiles and gives out a small sigh. “My wife prefers the company of other ladies.”

Alexa sits on the chair beside her. She quietly says, “You cannot tell anyone. Tyrion, please.”

Tyrion sees her slouched shoulders and loses the smile. “I was only teasing. I didn’t mean to upset you,” he says sincerely. “Now, I'm only jealous.”

She musters up a confused expression. “Jealous?” He nods, sitting beside her and picking grapes off a vine. “Oh, my funny little lion thinks he’s so smart.”

He looks to her, noticing that she’s no longer upset, but playful. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because I still like men.” Tyrion matches her expression from before, and she explains, “I like both men _and_ women, my lord. Though, I must ask that you tell no one. I know the rules of this place.”

He agrees, asking her all sorts of questions because he’d never met someone with such a sexual orientation. She laughs at that and tells him there are several people like her who keep it all a secret. 

He realizes that he loves learning about her, and everything that makes her _her_.


	7. chapter seven

Alexa is a lady now, and ladies sometimes have to attend events they’d much rather not. Today’s event she’d rather not attend: lunch with the Lannisters. Alexandrya is a Lannister now, and people address her as such which sounds so odd to her. 

She’s wearing a long gown without sleeves, it’s not as fancy as her wedding gown but still much nicer than what she wears on a normal day. When she walks into the dining room beside her husband, everyone’s heads turn in their direction, whispering to each other.

“You’ll get used to it,” Tyrion tells her kindly, running his fingers over her hand. “I did. Come, darling, let’s sit.”

They walk over to the table holding Tywin, Jaime, Cersei, and her two children. Everyone around them sits in their seats when lunch time is announced. Tyrion is seated next to Tywin who spends most of his meal speaking with his son in a quiet but harsh tone. Cersei, across from Alexa, speaks up then.

“You look lovely, Alexandrya.” 

The way she says it tells Alexa that she doesn’t mean it, she really hates her, but what else is there to speak of other than pleasantries when everyone would rather not be there.

“Thank you, Your Grace. Your gown is really quite stunning.”

“Well, maybe you should visit my seamstress,” Cersei offers with a smile, but her eyes tell a different story. 

Tyrion gently places his hand on hers under the table while he continues conversing with his father. It’s his way of telling her she’s not alone. It’s been barely a fortnight since their wedding, and they’re already each other’s greatest allies. She takes a breath, practically calming down at his touch. 

Myrcella chats with Alexa now from beside Cersei’s seat. The joy in the young blonde’s voice and the smile on her face when talking to a woman Cersei despises makes her falter. Then she taps on her daughter’s shoulder, telling her to quit playing with her food.

Alexa eats her fruits and crackers and pigeon pie. Cersei asks if she’s eating for two yet. Alexa informs that given the short time since the wedding, it would be too soon to tell. 

Cersei nods and says, “I pray you give Tyrion at least one child. I’d love to see him as a father.” 

The side eye she gives Tyrion makes Alexa’s blood boil. She turns to her husband and whispers in his ear, “Shall I pretend to be ill so we can leave?”

Tyrion tries and fails to suppress his grin, but composes himself before he tells his father that he must take his lady back to their chambers. Tywin begrudgingly allows it.

Once they’re clearly out of earshot, they race each other back to their room. Alexa immediately sits at the table, eating some of the grapes and drinking some wine that the servants had left them.

“You didn’t get enough at lunch?” Tyrion asks amusedly.

Alexa shakes her head, swallowing down the mouthful of grapes. “Your damned sister made me feel bad about how much I ate.” He chuckles lightly, taking the seat beside her. “Why did she say that she hopes that we get a child the way she did?”

Tyrion thinks over his answer, not wanting to frighten his wife but knowing he should tell her the truth. “You know she’s always hated me. When her son died, she thought it was me, but I’d had nothing to do with it. She swore to me that one day if I’d be so lucky as to have a child myself, she would take him away as I’d taken hers.”

Alexa takes it in. Then she asks, “Did she have any proof it was you?” When he says no, she grabs his hands in hers, holding tightly, and says, “Then fuck her.”

“Careful. She is still the queen,” Tyrion warns.

“Fuck the queen. Whatever children we have won’t just be yours, and I will protect them with my life. She can try to take everything we have, but we have a few things she never will.”

Tyrion smiles at her and asks softly, “And what is that, my dear?”

“Peace, happiness… love.”

“ _Do_ we have love? I hadn’t noticed,” he teases with a smile.

“I know we haven’t known each other long, but you’re probably all that stands between me and death, and you do to try to make me happy, make me forget this is an arranged marriage, and you’re so kind, much kinder than I imagine most lords would be under these circumstances, and I really do love you for that—”

He cuts her off then, locking his lips onto hers. He stands and pulls at the straps of her dress, Gods, he’s wanted to rip it off since he first saw her in it. They pull back a moment only for Alexa to grab Tyrion’s hand and bring him to their bed.

“You’re sure?” he asks her as he hovers above her, the pair of them in nothing at all.

“You promised you won’t do anything I wouldn’t like. This, Tyrion, I like this, please.”

After they’d finished, they lie like they had their first night together, Alexa’s head on Tyrion’s chest. He had a hand in her hair, gently playing with her locks.

“I love you, too,” he whispers against the top of her head before he kisses it softly, making her smile so widely.

This… this is good, something no one could take away from them.


	8. chapter eight

Once Alexa had reached her peak, Tyrion rolls off of his wife and finishes on the sheets of their bed. Alexa lets out a soft sigh, careful not to sound too disappointed. “Tyrion?” she asks quietly, putting a hand on her husband’s bare shoulder. He pulls away at the touch.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters like he does every time. Alexa is careful before she continues but it doesn’t matter, Tyrion cuts her off anyway. “Please, Alexa, can we not talk about this?”

He doesn’t phrase it as a question. He stands off the bed and walks to the table for some wine. He downs a glass and a half before he takes a breath.

She gets a little angry, feeling rejected. She presumes his father has ordered a child, a boy, yet still, Tyrion doesn’t give her one. “Do you not want children with me? What, is my lowborn blood not good enough for you?”

Tyrion quickly turns his head to Alexa who stands to cover herself in a dress. “Of course, it is, my love,” he tells her, walking around the table to hold her hand. “I'd like nothing more than a dozen babes half your blood.”

“Then what is it?” she asks him, running her thumb over the back of his hand.

Tyrion stops a beat before he tells her what he’s dreaded having to for a while. “I don’t want any of them to kill you like I killed my mother.”

She falls to the chair behind her. She runs her fingertips over his scars, over his lips. “Oh, my sweet, little lion. You didn’t kill your mother, it was just nature. No one is responsible for nature's decision on life.”

His eyes brim with tears as he refuses to look her in the eye. “But if I lose you—”

“You won't,” she promises him. “Nature wouldn't let you raise a dozen children all on your own.”

They nearly got there. They have six children before they decided it was enough, each child a year older than the last. Only one of those six grew half the speed of his brothers and sisters. He was the fifth child, and that was the one that scared Tyrion the most. Like he'd told his wife years ago, he never wants to lose her.

They decided together to name their first boy Wilhelm, Wil for short, after Alexa’s father. It made Tywin and Cersei unbelievably angry, naming Tyrion’s first son and heir to the lordship of Casterly Rock after the man who raised a bastard that wasn’t his, but Tyrion wouldn't have any of their input on the matter. 

And they didn't get a say in the rest of the baby's names. Next, came a girl, Myrcella, begged the baby's cousin, and so they call her Myrcy. Then there was another girl, Joanna, for Tyrion's mother. Fourth, a boy, Bronwyn, named after Tyrion's friend Bronn, who raced the carriage carrying Alexa back home when the baby came too soon.

For the fifth, Alexa and Tyrion had a hard time deciding, stuck on Jaime or Tommen or even Podrick. When the little boy was born, his parents looked upon his face and knew: Tyrion, but his parents call him Ryon. And finally, the last girl is Tallia, for Alexa's father’s sister.

Alexa and Tyrion sat in their dining room at Casterly Rock, watching their six children run around the table, Wil is the eldest at 15. Just that morning, Alexa had teased Tyrion about a grey hair growing. Now the pair sit calling for their children to sit and eat their breakfast. They look at each other as the children finally settle down. They smile and think about how happy they are with how their lives turned out.

Not bad for Robert Baratheon’s bastard and the Imp of the House Lannister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the end! hit kudos

**Author's Note:**

> more chapters will come later. i'll always take kudos and comments!! :)


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